Title: Qualcuno 2/3
Author: Erin aka ScullyClone 
Category: Story/M&S UST
Spoilers: None
Rating: PG-13 for some adult language
Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, and The X-Files belong to Chris Carter, 1013
productions, and FOX. Not me. I know, I know, I know!

See part one for the rest of the details.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

WHAT JUST HAPPENED....

"Where is he dammit?!" screamed a female voice. 

As they entered the lobby they saw a young woman in the middle of the room 
with dirt streaked across her face. A large read stain covered her muddy shirt. 
Her pant cuffs were turn and equally as dirty. Her face showed clear panic. 

"I wanna know where he is!!" she continued yelling. 

Mulder recognized the face from the photo in the file Deputy Jeffries had 
sent him. Surprised, he addressed the woman, "Kim? Kim Kauffman?" 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After they had calmed Kim down she was able to clarify who she was looking 
for. 

"David," she said. "I need to see David right now."

"Well, ma'am, as soon as you answer some questions..." started the deputy.

"No! You don't understand! I need to see him now and I won't
answer any questions until you let me."

So they drove Kim directly to David's apartment. There was a very happy 
reunion between the two, and it took a while before Mulder and Scully could 
get any answers as to what happened to her. 

Kim and David sat on the couch, holding hands while Scully started the 
interrogation. 

"Kim, what happened the night you were taken?"

Kim took a deep breath and began. "Well, I can't remember much of that. 
I only remember the part where I was being dragged out the door by those
shadows. I guess I must have blacked out right after that 'cause the next thing I
can recall is being in the middle of the forest. My arms were sore and my 
wrists hurt because they were tied tightly behind my back. There was tape
covering my mouth so I couldn't cry out for help. I was kneeling in the dirt and
I..I.." Her voice began to shake. 

"Kim?" questioned Scully.

David squeezed her hand and Kim continued. "There were these people in black
robes, and they were standing in a circle around me. They were chanting
something...and I couldn't understand them. It...it must have been in a different
language or something." She took another deep breath. "There must have been about six of
them."

"Could you see their faces?" asked Mulder. 

"No. They were wearing black hoods over their heads. But they were all different 
heights. The smallest one couldn't have been older than 12 years old." Here she 
took a long pause. "The tallest one, I guess he was the leader, walked up to me. 
He...he had something in his hand." She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. 

Scully was starting to think that they should continue the questions some other 
time when Kim was more mentally stable, but Kim kept talking.

"It was a knife." Her eyes snapped open. "He raised it up in the air..and...and 
...he stabbed me." She was close to tears. 

"Where did he stab you?" Scully asked.

Kim took her hand from David's and indicated to the red stain right below her 
right shoulder blade. Then she replaced her hand in his and her eyes took on 
a glossy state as if she was reliving the experience. "I could feel myself dying."

"What?" The deputy had been standing in the corner the entire time becoming 
more confused by the minute.

"You heard me," Kim said in a dream-like tone. "I was dying. Then all of 
the hooded people left. Except for one. The smallest one. And then... 
and then I blacked out. I died."

Deputy Jeffries sighed. This entire story was a cheap Stephen King rip-off 
and he wasn't going to listen to it anymore. He left the room, slamming the 
door. Scully was having her doubts as well, but she continued questioning, 
while Mulder sat beside her with an interested look on his face.

"What do you mean, Kim?" she asked.

"I died!" she yelled! "It's as simple as that."

"Then how are you here now?" Mulder questioned.

"I felt dizzy. I opened my eyes slightly and a bright, white light 
filtered through. Not like the one that came through the windows before I was 
taken. It was a...soft light."

David only stared at her, not knowing what to think. Kim's eyes were wide open 
and she was smiling slightly as if she were witnessing a miracle.

"My vision cleared," she continued, "and I could see her."

"Her?" asked Scully.

"A little girl. She had long blonde hair and she was maybe 10 years old. She 
was leaning over me with that light coming from all around her. Like she was
angel, which she just might have been. Her hand was pressed against the exact
place where the knife had entered. And...the pain was gone. I'll never get over what she
said next," Kim swallowed hard and looked to the floor. 

Scully waited a few seconds. "And what was that?" 

"You have someone to go back to," Kim whispered and looked at David.

Mulder cleared his throat softly to get Kim's attention back. Kim turned around 
reluctantly. "How did you get back?" asked Mulder. 

"I'm not sure. All I remember after that is waking up in my bed a few days later. 
I ran to the police immediately, thinking that perhaps David was there" Then Kim turned 
back to David.

Mulder and Scully thought that it was best to leave the two alone now, so they 
quietly thanked them and left. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was late and the day had been a very busy one. On the way to the 
nearest motel, Mulder asked for Scully's opinion of Kim's version of 
the truth. 

"Well," started Scully, clearly skeptical," she was drugged. The 
hallucinogen may not have wore off completely, which may have 
had some part in her story."

"So, you think that she hallucinated the whole thing?"

"Not exactly. She could have very well been held captive, 
but not by figures in hoods and black robes. And the whole 
dying part was an exaggeration. When I checked her for wounds 
back at the deputy's office, before we took her to see David, 
there was a light scar below her shoulder. If the knife was used 
with considerable force and a slight angle it could've killed her 
had it entered her heart. It had already healed though. She probably 
was scraped by a tree branch or something."

"It looked like there was a lot of blood, Scully." Here was Mulder's chance to 
be skeptical. 

Scully paused. "I haven't really figured that part out yet," she admitted.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Scully had only been asleep for three hours when she felt someone gently
shaking her awake. Puzzled she opened her eyes to see Mulder standing over
her, his hands on her shoulders.

"Scully wake up! There's been another kidnapping."

"Wh...what? Already?"

"Actually," Mulder said sitting on the side of her bed, "this particular person, 
a Mrs. Gini Shi, was missing a day before Kim was taken. Her husband, Josh 
Shi, never contacted the authorities until now. Apparently, Josh never 
really missed her."

Scully sat up. "Well that doesn't make sense. In the other cases, 
the victims had a good relationship with their significant other. 
Why would this case be different?"

Mulder shrugged. "When questioned by Deputy Jeffries, Josh said the only 
reason he came to the police at all was because he wanted a divorce. The cops 
searched his house and found evidence that makes it seem as if he was abusing 
Gini. Bloody shirts, pictures of Gini with scars. There were several complaints 
by the neighbors about the arguing too."

"And I take it that the kidnapping was described the same way as David and
Maureen portrayed it?"

Mulder nodded. "Right down to the exact same hallucinogen in the coffee they 
were drinking."

Scully got out of bed. "Well, can you call the deputy and tell him we'll be on our 
way?"

"I'll do that."

"Maybe we should check out Gini's medical records and find if there was any 
more evidence suggesting abuse."

"I'll call the hospital now."

"I'll join you after I get a quick shower."

Mulder smiled mischievously. "I can help with that too."

"Mulder..." Scully started. Then she just smiled and shook her head. "I can 
manage by myself." And she stepped in the bathroom and closed the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When they arrived at the sheriff's office ("Once again," thought Scully tiredly.)
they found that the hostility practically radiated off of Mr. Shi. When asked if he
hadanything to do with Mrs. Shi's disappearance his reply sent chills down the
deputy's spine.

"No, I didn't touch the bitch. But if she were here now I'd snap her neck."

"Look, Mr. Shi, there's no need for violent remarks like that," said Mulder 
cautiously.

Josh Shi gave Mulder a look so nasty that the deputy was about to ask Mulder 
to keep his mouth shut. But Mulder only met his gaze with an indifferent glance.

Scully stepped in. "Mr. Shi, I have Gini's medical records here and according 
to this she spent a good deal of time in the hospital. Would you care to 
elaborate on that?" 

For the first time Josh seemed a bit nervous. "She was clumsy," he spat. "Hey, 
the only reason I reported this was because I don't want to be married to some 
smart-ass woman who's gonna bail out on me when the going gets tough. When
can I get officially divorced?"

"Bail out? Don't you think the circumstances surrounding your wife's
disappearance were a bit too odd for her to plan it herself?" asked Mulder.

"She's no idiot, I'll give her that," replied Josh coldly. His tone of voice made it 
clear that he had no doubt in his mind that Gini orchestrated this entire thing.

Scully glanced up from Gini's medical files. "But we have two other couples who 
have experienced identical kidnappings. Doesn't that sound like more than a 
coincidence to you?" 

Josh was becoming angrier by the minute. "Dammit, I don't have to take this."
And he stood up to leave, but Deputy Jeffries placed a hand calmly on his
shoulder, signaling for him to sit back down. But Josh just backed harshly away.

"Sir, there is more than enough evidence causing us to believe you were abusing 
Mrs. Shi. Until we can get this straightened out, you'll be spending your time 
in jail."

Quickly Mulder and Scully left the interrogation room, leaving Deputy Jeffries 
and his assistants to handcuff a furious Josh Shi.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back in the front lobby of the sheriff's office, Mulder and Scully quietly talked
while Josh was being dragged to his cell. 

"Mulder, something doesn't seem right. This case is nothing like the others. If I
didn't know about the other couples, I would just assume that Gini had left Josh
because of the abuse." said Scully.

"Yeah," said Mulder quietly, almost to himself. Before he had time to say anything
else, one of the deputy's assistants signaled them both frantically over to the desk
where he held a phone up to his ear. 

"It's Mrs. Autrey," he said. "She says her husband came home this morning."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  

And when they arrived at the Autrey's house, there was Maureen and Eric
standing side by side in the door way, smiling like they had just won the lottery. After 
an interrogation, Mulder and Scully found Mr. Autrey's story similar and almost 
identical to Kim's. The same ritual, ending with him being stabbed in the chest
and dying. And then the small blonde girl standing in a halo of light, pressing her hand against 
the stab wound. Even the girl's words were the same as Kim's experience. "You
have someone to go back to." There was only one difference....

"What happened after the little girl told you this?" asked Scully.

Mr. Autrey sat across from her and Mulder at the dining room table. His wife was 
beside him. "Well, I was speechless. It was such a beautiful sight. I blinked. Only 
for a second. And then she was gone when I opened my eyes again." There was
a tone of complete awe in Eric's voice. "I got up and looked behind ever tree and bush. But 
it was like she just vanished."

"How did you get home, Mr. Autrey?" Mulder inquired. 

"I recognized the part of the woods I was in. My father used to take me there
when I was a little boy. The nearest road was only about a mile away from where I was.
So I found it and hitchhiked the rest of the way home." 

The deputy was standing behind Scully. "Could you show us the exact place in
the forest?" 

Eric nodded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  

They had been searching the woods where Eric was taken for hours. No
evidence had been found giving them the smallest hint at who had abducted him or Ms. Kauffman. 

Scully's feet were sore and she was growing impatient. "Mulder, we've looked
everywhere around this part of the forest. This isn't getting us anywhere."

Mulder sighed. She was right. They had searched the entire area, including
everywhere within a one mile radius around the spot that Eric had shown them.

"Maybe they kidnappers took Kim and Gini somewhere else," she suggested.

But Mulder's mind was focused elsewhere. In the leaves, the sun shined off of a 
small metallic object. A ring. Mulder approached it and kneeled down.

"Muld..." Then Scully saw what he was looking at and joined him. The ring was on
a hand. Pushing back leaves and twigs, they uncovered the rest of the arm. Then
the shoulder, then the neck, and then the face. The dead open eyes of a young girl 
stared up at them. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 3

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